Bank of America Corp DE Acquires 45,854 Shares of SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL)

Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL - Free Report) by 36.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 172,025 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 45,854 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.12% of SFL worth $1,758,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SFL. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of SFL by 239.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 168,908 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 119,131 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of SFL by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,395 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of SFL by 64.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,257 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of SFL by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 737,851 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $7,541,000 after purchasing an additional 35,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthstar Advisors LLC bought a new stake in SFL in the fourth quarter worth $569,000. 28.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded SFL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

SFL Stock Up 0.5%

SFL stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,067,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,061,715. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $8.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.28. SFL Co. Ltd. has a 12 month low of $6.78 and a 12 month high of $14.14. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 8.62 and a beta of 0.51.

SFL (NYSE:SFL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The shipping company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.04. SFL had a return on equity of 12.41% and a net margin of 14.45%. The business had revenue of $186.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.36 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

SFL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. SFL's payout ratio is currently 263.41%.

About SFL

SFL Corporation Ltd., a maritime and offshore asset owning and chartering company, engages in the ownership, operation, and chartering out of vessels and offshore related assets on medium and long-term charters. The company operates in various sectors of the maritime, and shipping and offshore industries, including oil transportation, dry bulk shipments, chemical transportation, oil products transportation, container transportation, car transportation, and drilling rigs.